More anecdotally, the situation can be seen in the unrest of poor Iranian workers, and also in the public disregard for their situation by some Iranian officials. The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran reported on Wednesday that there were at least eight labor protests in Iran during the last two weeks of January – a particularly noteworthy fact considering that protests and gatherings of all kinds are often subject to dispersal by Iranian security forces.
The various activist incidents have reportedly been aimed at pushing for increases in wages so as to keep up with the ever-growing rate of inflation which is making basic necessities less affordable for poor Iranians. Across the country, the price of bread increased by approximately one third last month alone.
The International Campaign also points out that a number of loosely connected demonstrations have been carried out by teachers, following a coordinated two-day protest on January 20 and 21 that called attention to the fact that most Iranian teachers makes wages that are more than 35 percent lower than the official poverty line.
These financial incentives were reportedly dispensed to some persons in senior positions while the public was routinely misinformed about the handling of the situation, in clear violation of the law. Furthermore, there are indications that city employees used this unofficial policy as a way of receiving additional kickbacks by reporting the execution of more dogs than were actually present in the municipality.
